818 Kopitiam

I went to eat at this place with high expectations, based on the good reviews I read here.

I was very disappointed. I did not like the mongolian pork ribs, it was mushy and oily. The waitress suggested deep fried tofu and we ordered it. It turned out to be even more oily. The hor fun was below average.

The mutton satay was also average, a bit too tough.

Don't think I will go back there again.

Thanks to the 3 reviewers before me, I paid this place a visit. It was a good choice!

It's not that difficult to find - you can see the heavy vehicles once you turn into Bukit Batok Road from PIE. Follow starrynight's directions if you're still unsure.

The satays were excellent. The mutton was done very well, and the meat had just the right amount of fats. 50 cents a piece is reasonable because you get one bowl of sauce for each diner and also free ketupat, cucumber and onions.

The seller is a very nice and friendly man too! Check with him what the expected order lead time is if you're pressed for time, because it takes time to cook the satay and you never know otherwise if there's a huge order before you.

I ordered the bittergourd soup, season beans and Mongolian pork ribs. The soup was good because it had all the natural flavours of the ingredients and no added salt. The Mongolian pork ribs were nicely fried and the pepper seasoning went well with it - well chosen.

Note that their dishes labelled "Small" are pretty large, so it would help if you come in a bigger group. Thankfully my waitress warned me beforehand that the servings are larger than I might think.

Waiting staff are helpful and pleasant. My waitress switched to English when I asked what Mongolian pork ribs were in English. Ambience feels like a diner in a rural area but what makes it great is dining under the sky with civilisation and HDB a bit further away.

It gets a bit busy on Saturday nights and I observed people waiting for a table while their order was taken and prepared.

Overall, a very happy experience and outstanding value for money. I will return, especially when I feel like giving my F650GS a run.

Chanced upon the reviews of this place when I was randomly surfing, and was excited to see such high marks.

I've been at reservist these past 2 weeks, and the camp is somewhere in Jurong West - one night, when we were told that we could leave camp at 7pm, but had to be back by 10:30pm, I suggested that we check this place out, and off we went.

Do note that the directions are a little difficult, and the online maps on this site, and at www.streetdirectory.com don't give an accurate "read". What you need to do when you turn off the PIE (from either direction) or come from Jurong whatever road is to turn left at the very first small turn with the sign that says Jurong Road. Drive for another 300m or so, and turn right into the car park - heavy vehicles parked in front of you, so you have to turn right to park at the regular parking lot.

Once you reach, don't wait already - order the satays! The dude only has mutton or chicken; at 50 cents each, they are on the high side, but really good, especially the chicken which are juicy and meaty (I'm usually a mutton satay man), and they come with the ketupats free. Also generous in giving each eater a bowl of sauce, unlike some places which ration the sauce so miserly it might as well be XO or something.. He said he closes usually at 10:30 or 11pm.

I saw tons of people ordering curry fish head, which looks really enjoyable, but did not personally try it. As we had already eaten in camp (barely 4/10.. haha), we ordered only calamari to eat with Heineken. 7/10. Can't remember how much we paid though.

Yo! read the above review n decided to come here n try... guess wat! i think its seriously one of the best findings!! ordered fried hor fun ($4) and fish soup ($4) and satay... the fried hor fun is v nice!!! usually i will add lotsa soya sauce cos other dry hor fun not salty enough, but these i don have to add anything.. juz eat... the portion is so much tt it could feed both of us n bloat us up... FYI, its the small size hor fun.. the fish soup had a v sweet n nice soup base.. fish is quite fresh... v nice i would say... lotsa fish for $4... satay... at 50 cent each, its quite expensive i would say.. after eating it, i find tt its v different from the other satays i had... went to peep at the uncle grilling the satays n discover tt he really put honey on the satay which explains the sweet taste!! a nice little place tt felt out-of-singapore.... worth the trip down from where ever u r in sg... the auntie from the zi char also v frenly n nice... show us to the table... having the patience to stand by our table waiting for orders, n despite mi being fickle n in the end ordered only 2 dish.. she still smile n serve us each a small bowl n plate wif utensils happily... nice service!!!

This hideout was uncovered by a buddy who stays in the West. Warning: It can be difficult to find for the clueless. For those who are driving, try looking up for Bukit Batok Heavy Vehicle Park- you know you've hit the right spot when you see lines of neon lights, very malaysia mwaha. People taking public transport can take the train to Bukit Batok and transfer to bus 174 outside the interchange. Alight at the 8th bus stop and walk back towards the neon lights. This place can be really dark at night so make sure you've got company navigating the place with you.



Date of visit- 30/10/07

On arrival, you will smell the aroma of satay, give in to temptation and order as many for starter, you will love them. I did, we ordered 4 for each pax dining and both the chicken and the mutton we tried tasted good, with the former better. Simply sedap, their chicken satays. You must try them too!



From left:
Sweet and Sour Pork and Stir Fry Long Beans, Foo Yong Egg, Deep Fried Tofu,
Vension Meat, Deep Fried Prawns, Chicken & Mutton Satays

Practically every dish tasted good! I especially liked their egg dish, deep fried tofu, and of course, their satays as mentioned earlier. Special recognition to deep fried tofu for its really unique taste, it was non-sticky and non-greasy. Coupled with the mayo, I just can't stop gobbling the whole plate up. Excellent job by the chef! Overall their dishes were really good, minimal salt, maximum original taste, and doesn't leave us with the salty aftertaste that many zi char stall would.

Conclusion:
Overall the meal came up to about $130 for the 10 of us, inclusive of drinks and satays, which IMHO was ultra-EXCELLENT value! This eatery is the stall to go if you want perfect bang for your buck, I shall be bringing my mum to this place soon.